I Wish Nothing But The Best For You
by wildfire280
Summary: When Sam Evans returned to McKinley High, he wasn't expecting all of the changes that had occured since he'd left. But now he's determined to show everyone that not all of the changes were for the best.
1. A Changed Family

Sam shook his head and rested a tightly clenched fist onto the top of the piano. "No. This is not okay. We should all be together. We should all be singing together, performing together, and competing together. The glee club is a family!"

Mercedes sighed and crossed her legs where she sat on the piano bench. "If you came here to convince me to go back, you can save your breath. From the start of glee club, it's been the Rachel Berry Show. Other people only get solos when she doesn't feel like singing or when she decided to stand back for a while. Heck, even if she does want a solo and someone else gets it…we all had to be subject to her pouting. It's time for the rest of us to have a little bit of the spotlight, with or without her approval." Slowly, she stood. "I really had hoped that you would've accepted our invitation to be in The Troubletones as a male lead. Since Artie joined, the group is not exclusive to girls and we just thought you'd like the opportunity to shine."

He had to give it to her. There was a maturity in Mercedes Jones that was just beginning to show before he'd left Lima that summer. It was easy to see how she had easily stepped up to be the leader of The Troubletones under Ms. Corcoran. It was also just as easy to fall in love with her again. Not that he'd ever stopped being in love with her.

Sam watched her walk to the choir room door and called out, "I didn't come back here to see the club split apart like this!"

She gave a wry chuckle, pausing with one hand on the door knob. "Then why did you come back?"

"Wow. You really have to ask that?"

Mercedes practically spun on her heel to face him. "Yes, Sam, I really have to ask that. Why did you come back? Because your dad has a job again? Because you just missed us here in little ol' McKinley?"

Sam was taken aback by the hostility in her words. "Why are you so angry?"

"Why am I so…?"

She got halfway to him before Mr. Schuester came into the door, followed closely by Finn. They both stopped and looked between Mercedes and Sam curiously, feeling the obvious tension in the room. Mr. Schuester cleared his throat. "Mercedes. It's good to see you in here again."

Mercedes gave a polite smile that almost seemed forced. "Thanks…but I was just leaving." She whispered an apology as she brushed past her former teacher to leave the room.

Finn frowned. "Sam…what was that about?"

Sam sunk down onto the piano bench and crossed his arms on top of his knees, leaning forward dejectedly. "I leave for less than four months and things get this messed up. What the hell happened?"

"Happened…? Oh." Finn glanced back toward the door, suddenly understanding. "I don't know. A lot of things just hit the fan, I guess. We're doing the best that we can under the circumstances. I mean, The Troubletones are incredible but we've got just as much talent as them. Right, Mr. Schue?"

Will Schuester hadn't looked away from the door since Mercedes had gone out of it. He'd made plenty of mistakes when it came to his students. He encouraged some but didn't encourage others nearly as much as he should have. He barely understood himself how he had gotten to the place where he could yell at a student like he did the day that Mercedes had quit. Did he do it out of frustration? Out of annoyance that one of his students presumed to suggest that he didn't know what was for the good of the group?

"…Mr. Schue?"

Will blinked and nodded. "Yes, Finn. We're doing the best that we can." He went over to his music stand, busying himself with organizing the sheet music there.

Sam observed him silently and then stood, walking past Finn after giving the other boy a pat on the back. "See you in glee club. I've got to get to class."

"Sure man. See you later."

Hefting his book bag onto one shoulder, Sam left the choir room. He had wanted to come back to McKinley for one reason and one reason only. And she was actually _happy_ with the way things were. How was everyone okay with all of these changes? Glee club wasn't glee club anymore and everyone was just accepting it. He watched as Santana and Brittany disappeared into Ms. Corcoran's office, probably for a rehearsal. He was glad that the members of The Troubletones were finally able to showcase their talents. Admittedly, when he had heard that Mercedes was one of the group's leads, the first thing he had felt was pride and happiness that she was finally being noticed for the incredible singer that she was. But this separation couldn't be for the best. It _couldn't_ be. He was determined to prove it to everyone and he knew exactly who to start with.


	2. Not Even Close To Being Done

**Author's Note:** Decided to do a Quinncedes-centric chapter (because it's just weird how they barely talk). Please review!

"He still wants you, you know."

Mercedes grabbed a fork to place on her lunch tray, grimacing at the grayish blue color of the cafeteria's attempt at mashed potatoes before turning to raise an eyebrow at Quinn. "What are you talking about exactly?"

"Sam. I tried to get him back…I tried to use him to fix things. But he won't do it. He wants you."

The sadness in the other girl's voice made Mercedes pause in the middle of reaching for the napkin dispenser on a nearby counter and face her. Choosing to ignore the majority of what Quinn had said, she asked, "Fix what things?"

"Oh please. Don't pretend like you haven't noticed how I've completely lost it lately." A lock of Quinn's short blonde hair fell into her eyes and she swiped it behind her ear irritably. "Did you at least notice how Shelby won't let me into The Troubletones? Why do think that is?"

Mercedes shrugged and found an isolated table at the edge of the cafeteria where they could continue the rest of their conversation without too many people overhearing. She sat down, motioning for Quinn to join her. "Ms. Corcoran hadn't even told us that you _wanted_ to be in the group so…"

Quinn took a seat across from her and leaned forward with her hands on the edge of the table, speaking in a low hiss. "It's because she knows that I've been doing everything I can to get Beth back. And maybe it's also because she knows that I think something real freaky is going on between her and Puck. He wouldn't give me another baby either."

"Another…?" Mercedes's brows creased in disbelief. "Wait, did you ask Puck to have sex with you so you could have another baby? And then you asked _Sam_?"

"Something like that."

Mercedes pushed her tray of food away from her and crossed her arms on top of the table. "You really have lost your mind. Why would you ask him to do something like that? He's been back in Lima for less than a week and you already have him lined up to be a sperm donor!" She slowly reached over to grab both of the girl's hands. "What's wrong?"

Quinn cocked her head to the side. "I would've thought that answer would be really obvious."

"I'm serious, girl. I know we haven't talked lately and I know close to nothing about you anymore but what's going on inside that head of yours? Why are you doing this to yourself?"

All of the attitude and overconfidence that had become a fixture in Quinn's personality since the beginning of senior year left her suddenly. She slumped in her seat, lowering her eyes to the skirt of her bright yellow dress. "Beth was the one thing in my life that I did right. She's the...only thing I've ever done right. And since I let her go…everything's gone wrong. Mercedes, I_ need_ her back."

"You gave up Beth because you were in high school and you weren't ready to be a mom. What's changed since then?" Mercedes sighed. "If you just want your daughter back because you want to be able to show the world that Quinn Fabray can do something right, even if it's at the expense of Ms. Corcoran _and_ Beth's happiness, go right ahead." She gave Quinn's hand a squeeze. "But I think deep down you know that Ms. Corcoran loves that little girl and that she only wants the best for her. She isn't in the way of you being with Beth. She _wants_ you to be in that baby's life."

Quinn's head rose; her eyes were shimmering with tears. "I want the best for her too."

"I believe you. And I also believe you think that taking Beth away will be the best thing. But Ms. Corcoran is what's best for Beth right now. You've got to acknowledge that she can provide for Beth a whole lot more than you can."

Quinn sniffled and rubbed at her nose. "I wish we'd have had this conversation before I planted all that stuff in Shelby's apartment and called Child Services…I'll call them back and let them know I made a mistake."

"Dang, you've been really busy." After a while and in an attempt to lighten the mood, Mercedes grinned wryly. "Is there anything _else_ we should talk about?" She finally slid her tray back in front of her and stabbed the macaroni and cheese there with her fork with a glance at the clock on the cafeteria wall. It was almost time to go to her Thesis in History class.

A small smile appeared on Quinn's lips. It immediately reminded Mercedes of the Quinn that had stayed at her house two years ago, the Quinn who was learning to get back on her feet and be the kind of person that she wanted to be and not just some popular Cheerio clone. The girl straightened in her chair and nodded. "We could talk about Sam."

Mercedes didn't look up from her food. "There's really nothing to talk about. I'm glad he had enough self-respect not to have sex with you just so you could have another baby. He's always been a pretty smart guy."

"Smart guy. Nice guy. _Your _guy."

Mercedes's gaze rose to meet hers. "You know, I was beginning to wonder when you guys would bring that up. I knew everyone saw that stupid interview with Jacob."

"Well, Puck apparently brought it up to Shane when you two first started dating and he threatened to punch his face in. We learn from Puckerman's mistakes. Why didn't you talk to _us_ about it? Why was _Jacob Ben Israel_ the first to know about you and Sam? Why did you guys keep it a secret? Was it his family? Was it yours? Or did they know and you didn't want us to know?"

One hand rising as if to shield herself from the onslaught of questions, Mercedes scooted her chair back from the table. "It doesn't matter anymore. He left. That's done."

"He's back in case you haven't noticed. And he still wants you." Quinn searched quickly for the sea of red varsity jackets that were always clumped together at a long table in the center of the cafeteria, turning back to Mercedes when she found the blonde boy she had been looking for. "And that's not even me filling in the blanks or reading between the lines. He told me. And look at the way he's looking at you."

She didn't want to look but something made Mercedes move her gaze in the direction that Quinn had been looking in before. Sam sat between Finn and Azimio; it was obvious that he wasn't paying any attention to the conversation going on around him. His dark turquoise eyes seemed to brighten slightly when he saw her eyes were on him, and he slowly raised a hand in a discreet wave. Mercedes began to raise her hand to wave back but then shook her head and turned her attention back to the girl across from her. "He moved; I moved on. It's as simple as that.

"But you're not with Shane anymore. We all thought that you two broke up because…"

"Because Sam came back?" Mercedes shook her head again, more firmly this time. "No. Sam had nothing to do with it."

"But you two broke up the day after Sam came back to McKinley. That seemed a little…" Quinn let her voice trail off with a shrug.

"Sam had _nothing _to do with it. Shane made me feel like I was all alone with no one but him to support me when I know that's not true. I made the decision to let him go and be someone else's cheerleader." Mercedes stood suddenly. "I have to get to class."

Quinn took out her cell phone and glanced at the time on its screen. "We still have ten minutes before the bell even rings."

"I…I want to get there early and ask Mr. Bradenton a question about last night's assignment. I'll see you in there." With one last swift glance at the football players' table, Mercedes hurried out of the cafeteria.

Quinn propped an arm up on the table and rested her cheek in an open palm. Mercedes Jones was always the first to give advice and support but the last one to see what was right in front of her. The corner of her mouth turned upward as Sam passed by her table, dumped the contents of his tray distractedly into the trashcan by the door, and left less than a minute after Mercedes had.

Her scheming to get back Beth was done. Her plans to get another baby were done. But she had seen the way Sam's face had lit up when he'd held Mercedes in his arms after their performance at Nationals and the way it had dropped when he'd returned and they told him what had happened while he was away. Whatever had gone on between Mercedes Jones and Sam Evans, it wasn't done. Not even close.


	3. Simple Confessions

Mercedes sat on the edge of the auditorium stage; her dangling feet beat a rhythm as she kicked them forward and backward against its side. She stared unblinking out into the empty seats. Sam still wanted her. What did that even mean? Did it mean anything? Did she want it to?

Part of her still refused to believe that Shane had been nothing but a rebound; someone who she had hoped would make her feel as beautiful and wanted as Sam had. Instead, he had taken it upon himself to alienate her from everyone she cared about. He'd once told her that she had to fight to get what was rightfully hers, whether that was attention, solos, or respect, and she had taken him at his word and started fighting. But she didn't have to fight her friends for anything of those things, especially not for respect. Her mother taught her that respect was something to be earned. She certainly wasn't earning anything by making demands. That wasn't her, and it was one of the first lessons Ms. Corcoran had taught her. Rachel had been so right on the Night of Neglect that past year when she said that Mercedes was much more concerned about being liked and loved than she was. Giving up friends and love for the sake of her talent was the last thing that Mercedes had ever wanted to. But she had when she left New Directions.

She bit her lower lip thoughtfully. That was exactly what she did, wasn't it? She gave up the people that had always had her back so she could be the lead in something, _anything_ and to be more than that one incredible note at the end of each song. "Was it worth it?" Mercedes asked out loud. Her soft voice carried throughout the large room.

"Was what worth it?"

Her eyes closed tightly at the sound of that voice. "What are you doing here?"

Sam came to stand beside her; he looked down at her for a moment before lowering himself to sit a foot away. "I think we should talk."

"About what?"

"About everything. Everything that's happened. Where we are with each other…_what_ we are to each other."

She opened her eyes and regarded him distantly. "We don't have anything to talk about."

Sam raised his eyes to the auditorium's high ceiling, stifling the groan of frustration that was rising up inside of him. "Oh okay. I see. We're going to pretend that nothing happened, nothing's going on, and neither of us is going to mention the humongous elephant in the room. Let what went on in June stay in June, huh? That's how we're going to deal with it?"

Mercedes shrugged; she turned away from him and fixed her gaze on a chair that had been left on stage from McKinley's production of West Side Story a few weeks prior. "Sounds like a plan."

"The hell it does!"

She quickly turned her entire upper body to face him. "What do you want, Sam? Just say what you want so we can get it out there in the open and move on."

"I want you to admit that we weren't just some summer fling. We didn't even _st__art_dating in the summer, Mercedes! That was three of the happiest months of my life and you just threw it back in my face with two words! Did you even care how I would feel when I watched that interview? 'Cocoa babies'? 'Baby, how you talk'? What was _that_?" Sam could feel the hurt and disappointment that he had felt that night in Tennessee when he'd seen the video coming back to him in a rush.

"What was I supposed to say when Jacob put that stupid camera in my face? Shane was standing right there!"

"Screw Shane! I thought we meant something! I _love_ you, Mercedes! That means something!"

"I love you too but it doesn't change anything!"

"You…!" Sam stopped short as he realized what she had just said.

Mercedes exhaled loudly as if she hadn't taken a single breath since they had started yelling and scrambled to her feet. "I didn't say that. Forget I said that." Outside of the auditorium in the hallway, the bell rang to signal the end of the lunch hour. She bent down and grabbed her bag, gripping it tightly in her hand. By the time she straightened up again, Sam was on his feet as well and standing directly in front of her. Mercedes shook her head slowly. "Sam…please forget I said anything. Things have changed since you left. _I've_ changed since you left. That's just the way…"

Sam leaned forward suddenly and pressed his lips to hers. His hands went to either side of her neck as he took a step forward to eliminate the space between them even more. Mercedes closed her eyes, and for a moment, felt herself get lost in the kiss. For just one moment, she let herself remember how much she had missed him.

Finally though, her hand raised and she put her palm flat against Sam's chest, gently pushing him away. He drew back from her, his eyes searching hers. She didn't give him the chance to find anything, walking quickly backstage and out of the auditorium.

Sam stood still as a statue. He could still feel the pressure of her full lips on his; the warmth that had always filled him whenever they had kissed filled him again now. She was wrong. This changed everything.

He winced when the bell rang again. Being late for class was not the way he wanted to make an impression on his new teachers. Sam ran backstage and snatched up his book bag from where he had abandoned it near the door before stepping out into the brightly lighted hallway. He jogged up to the second floor of the building, slowing down into a walk when he saw that the door of his Statistics classroom was still open. Not tardy yet by Mrs. Hamilton's standards. That was good.

"Hey Evans, let me talk to you for a second."

That was bad. Sam slowly turned to Shane Tinsley behind him. He hadn't even noticed that the other boy had been following him. Or maybe he had been waiting for him. Either way, Sam frowned at the thought of Shane needing to talk to him about anything. "I've got to get to class. Maybe we can talk later at practice?"

"Meh. Or maybe we could talk now." Shane crossed his arms against his expansive chest and tilted his head in a gesture that motioned for Sam to come to where he stood leaning by a water fountain. "Saw you follow my girl Mercedes into the auditorium. Saw her come out looking pretty upset. It's probably best if you leave her alone."

Sam adjusted his book bag on his shoulder with a glance back at the door, staying right where he was. "Listen, I know Mercedes and you broke up and I'm sorry about that, man. But really it's probably best if you just stay out of her business." He quickly amended, "_Our _business."

The expression on the linebacker's face shifted from civil to menacing in a heartbeat as he took a large step toward Sam. "Her business _is_ my business. Stay away from her, Evans. She's not so sure what she wants right now and she doesn't need you confusing her."

"Confusing her? Believe me; the last thing I want is for Mercedes to be confused about her feelings."

"There are no feelings. Not for you anyway." Shane raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear what the girl said? I know you saw that video. 'So June.' Whatever you two had last year, it's over. Done. I'm the man in Mercedes's life now. And trust me…" He took another step closer, grinning down at Sam condescendingly. "You don't want her back. Used goods, you know?" Sam's eyes widened; his heart painfully dropped at what was being implied.

"Samuel Evans!" Mrs. Hamilton appeared in the open doorway then, rapping on the door frame four times with her knuckles to accentuate each syllable of his name. "I believe you were supposed to be in my class five minutes ago?"

"Yes ma'am…Sorry." He took in Shane's patronizing smirk one more time before turning to follow his teacher inside the classroom.

With an indifferent shrug, Shane turned and headed off to his own class.


	4. Always Good

**Author's Note: **Sorry it took me so long to update. I've been trying to decide where I want this story to go. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! As always, reviews are appreciated!

Mercedes and Santana shared a confused glance as Principal Figgins passed by them on his way out of their choir room. Santana raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow and stepped forward to lean on the piano nearby where Shelby Corcoran was standing. "What's going on? Does he want us to do a recital? Perform at a pep rally? Is there a news conference?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes; the rest of The Troubletones filed into the room and took seats around the room. "Really? A news conference? Why would we need to do a news conference?"

"_Please_. We're the fiercest thing this town has ever seen. You'd think Figgins would be going crazy telling everyone about us."

Shelby walked to the music stand at the front of the room, gathered up the sheet music there, and began passing it out. "While Principal Figgins is extremely pleased and proud of how much this group has progressed since its beginnings, there are absolutely no plans for a news conference."

Sugar raised her hand. "I just want to say that, as a member of the Motta family, it's my pleasure to give all of you an outlet for your talents and mine. Daddy always says…"

"Oh shut up, Motta." Santana narrowed her eyes at the girl, then turned to shrug innocently when Brittany nudged her in the side.

Sugar lowered her hand slowly. Mercedes smiled apologetically at her before turning to Shelby. "What exactly did Figgins want, Ms. Corcoran?"

She handed her the rest of the pages of music and went to stand beside the piano once more, motioning for Santana to go sit down in the empty chair by Brittany. "Apparently, one of the members of New Directions came to his office this morning and gave him a list of rather convincing reasons why this group should dissolve."

The girls all began talking at once. Santana stood up so quickly that her chair was knocked backwards. "¿Quién es? Who the hell…?" Suddenly she wheeled around to glare at Mercedes. "Trouty. I should have known. Girl, get a handle on your man before I…!"

"He's not my man!" Mercedes raised a hand to her face and pinched the bridge of her nose between two fingers. Truth be told, he had never felt quite so far from being hers as he did now. Sam had gone from intently gazing at her to purposefully avoiding her in less than 24 hours. It should have been a good thing. She told him her feelings changed nothing and he seemed to be taking her words to heart. That should have been a relief.

But when she noticed how he had looked away from her and turned his back to her when she'd walked past him in the hallway, the last thing she felt was relief. And that sinking feeling she felt only intensified when Shane winked at her as she talked with Mike and Tina before they had to go in to rehearsal with Mr. Schue. Something was wrong.

As soon as the bell rang, Santana shoved Mercedes in the direction of Sam's locker, despite her protests that she had nothing to do with whatever he had said to Principal Figgins. She spotted his head of tousled blonde hair quickly; he was in the middle of switching out one of the notebooks in his book bag when she hesitantly tapped him on the shoulder. Sam jumped, almost dropping his book bag.

Mercedes withdrew her hand and took a step back. "Sorry. Um, I heard that you talked to…" Her voice trailed off as he turned toward her. The amount of pain filling his eyes made her feel cold all over. Her hand grasped his arm. "Sam? Is something wrong?"

He looked around them, started to shrug, and then paused. "Yeah…something's wrong." He closed his locker door with a slam of his open palm. "I never expected for you to wait for me but part of me just hoped…Shane told me, Mercedes. He told me about you and him."

Her stricken look told him that she didn't even need to clarify what he was talking about. "He…" Mercedes turned and shrunk back against the lockers, raising a hand to cover her mouth. "He had no right to tell you that."

"Were _you _going to?" Sam shook his head. "Never mind. It's none of my business, right? I know that the only reason why you're talking to me now is because I talked to Figgins about the glee club being split in two and I know that you think that's none of my business too. Yeah, the fact that you let a guy like _that _touch you is absolutely none of my business. _Nothing _is my business. Apparently, once you leave this school, your opinion stops mattering!"

She struggled to keep her voice low. "Sam, you can't talk about Shane that way. He may not be…"

"He called you used goods, Mercedes. _Used goods_." Her eyes lowered for a quick moment before rising again to his face; she didn't say a word. Sam leaned in so close that their noses were almost touching. "He doesn't get to call you that. _No one_ gets to call you that."

Mercedes grasped his arm and yanked him into an empty classroom nearby, shutting the door firmly behind them. "Are you mad because of what Shane called me or are you upset about what he told you happened between us? If you're looking for an apology…"

"I don't want an apology!" Sam leaned back against a desk and buried his head in his hands. "I want to go back in time and make it so I never left."

"Well you can't," she muttered, surprising herself with how bitter her words sounded.

He slowly lifted his head. "Why can't things just go back to normal? If I love you and you love me, why can't we just be together again? Why can't we be happy?"

"There isn't always a happy ending, Sam!" She gave out an exasperated sigh. "Why can't you just leave well enough alone? I'm happy with The Troubletones. We're kicking butt and taking names. New Directions is doing just_ fine_ without us. And you're going to do just fine without me." There was a pause as Mercedes looked away from him and bit her lower lip. When she turned back toward him, he could see that there were tears at the corner of her eyes. She rested a hand on top of his where they were clasped in his lap. Her voice was so quiet that he could barely hear her. "I'm not sorry you found out about Shane and me but…it is better that you know. I'm…not good. Can you understand that? I'm just not good anymore."

Something about the way she said that made Sam feel more protective of Mercedes Jones than he had ever felt. He looked into her eyes intensely. "He really said some messed up things to you while you were dating him, didn't he?"

Mercedes blinked and stepped back. "Sam…leave it alone. Please."

"You didn't say anything when I told you that he'd called you used goods. You weren't even surprised. Is it because he's called you that before? Did he call you that after…?" The expression on her face answered his question. "He was wrong. He _is_ wrong."

"Sam…"

"No, he is!" Suddenly he was in front of her; his hands were firmly placed on her shoulders. "I don't care what Shane told you or called you. You know what? I don't care about him at all. I care about you. Geez, Mercedes, how can you believe those things about yourself?"

She reached up and tentatively touched his cheek. "Sam Evans, why do you always feel like it's up to you to convince me that I'm alright, that everything will be fine? You like to fix things but some things just can't get fixed."

"I don't want to fix you; I want to love you." He lifted a hand to cover the hand she had on his face. "Shane took a lot from you, Mercedes. Let me give it back to you."

"I don't need you to give anything back to me. I can do this on my…"

Sam captured her lips with his own, holding her close to his body and letting the sounds of students milling around in the hallway outside the classroom fade away until he could practically hear how quickly her heart was beating. When he released her mouth, he pressed his forehead against hers, grinning. "Stop being such a diva."

Mercedes couldn't help but roll her eyes. There was just no pushing him away. "Stop shutting me up with kisses."

"I remember when you couldn't get enough of my kisses."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, like I said before, boy, this doesn't change a thing. I didn't break up with Shane just so you could replace him. And don't you dare get smart and say that _he_ replaced _you_ because…" She sighed as Sam's mouth covered hers again.


	5. Let's Just Go Back

_"You know what, Mercedes? I want to marry you one day."_

_Mercedes straightened from bending over to cover Sam's two sleeping siblings with the bed comforter and turned to see him leaning against the television stand at the corner of the motel room. She narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend of two months, searching his face to see if he was joking. Her eyebrows rose when she realized that he was serious. "Sam, how exactly did you come to that conclusion?"_

_He shrugged. "You're just wonderful. I can't think of anyone else who's done what you have for me. Not counting my family of course."_

_"Really? 'Cause I can. Actually, I can think of two people right off the top of my head. Kurt and Quinn."_

_Sam shook his head and motioned for her to come toward him. "I'm not talking about babysitting or bringing over meals and clothes. I'm talking about how you make me feel. This is the happiest I've been since I came to Lima. Every time I'm with you I forget about this crummy motel and I just feel…complete." He placed a hand on either side of her waist._

_Mercedes allowed him to press her against him, enjoying the feel of the hard planes of his abdomen under her fingers. "That doesn't necessarily mean that we should get married. We're a little too young to be thinking about…"_

_"They say we're too young to be in love but I know I love you. Why can't I know right now that you're meant for me?"_

_Her entire body suddenly felt warm at the thought of marrying Sam Evans, of waking every morning with this incredible man beside her, of having his love and support forever. "What if something changes though? Things can't always stay the same."_

_"They will for us." _

_She smirked and gave him a poke in his side. "What makes you so sure?"_

_"Because I love you. And you love me. And I'd never let anything come between us." Sam tugged gently on one of her raven-black curls. _

_She closed her eyes and snuggled her face against his chest. "I really hope nothing ever does."_

"You should come over tonight. Stacy and Stevie want to video chat and I know they'd love to see and hear you again."

Mercedes gave Sam a small shove so he moved from leaning back against her locker door. "I feel like that's not such a good idea. It might confuse them."

He nodded a greeting to several football players as they passed by. Turning back to her, he frowned. "Confuse them how?"

"We're not dating anymore. If I know Stacy as well as I think I do, she'll see us together and immediately assume that we're _back_ together." She grabbed a heavy textbook out of her book bag and heaved it into her arms.

Sam thought about her words for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with that at all. Well, the part where you said we're not dating anymore is a little iffy but easily adjusted."

After a little maneuvering of the textbook, she smacked his arm lightly. "I feel like you're scheming, Sam Evans."

He took the book from her, easily holding it in one hand before setting it inside her locker and closing the door. "You may be right. Come over tonight." Her lips pursed sassily and he got that strong urge he always did to kiss her. "Oh c'mon, please? They've really missed you."

"Mercedes."

They both turned to see Quinn standing a few feet away. Mercedes nodded at the other girl and cocked her head to the side. "When are they calling in?"

"Around eight."

She rolled her eyes at the sight of his victorious smirk. "I'll see you at eight. I'm just going to say hello, see how they're doing, and then I'm going to go."

Sam raised his hands. "Or maybe you'll stay and watch a movie with me."

"Watch a…?" Mercedes glanced at Quinn and smacked his arm again before walking away toward the other girl. "Schemer!"

"See you at eight!"

Quinn brushed a piece of lint off of the arm of her sweater. "Back together?"

"_No_." Mercedes felt her face flush as Sam winked at her and then jogged to walk with other football players to their after school practice. She bit her lower lip at the face Quinn was giving her. "What?"

"You two are back together. Or at least getting there. Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Mercedes swung her now much-lighter bag onto her back, and the two girls walked to McKinley High's east parking lot. "Thanks for offering the ride. Burt said my baby should be ready by this evening to leave the shop."

"It's okay. I…wanted to talk to you about something anyway." Quinn unlocked her silver Nissan Altima and got in. She waited until Mercedes was in the passenger's seat and had buckled her seat belt to speak again. "If Mr. Schue gave you a solo at a competition, would you come back?"

Mercedes slowly turned from glancing out of the window. They started on their way to her house. "Quinn, what the…?"

Quinn drummed her index fingers on the steering wheel. "I promise I'm not trying to talk you into coming back to New Directions. It's just…we were talking about you today in glee club. We were rehearsing and Mr. Schue said that something was missing, that we just weren't putting as much heart into the performance as you Troubletones do. And Tina said that it was because you weren't there. I saw Mr. Schue's face…he agreed with her. He didn't say anything but I know he sees that you're the difference. Puck said that he should just offer you a solo to get you back. I was just wondering if that would actually work."

Mercedes sighed. Real nice, Noah Puckerman. "I didn't leave just because I never got a competition solo. I left because I felt ignored and taken for granted. I left because nothing I said ever seemed to matter to Mr. Schue. He just…stopped caring about me. And after that day in booty camp, I felt like all of you had stopped caring about me."

"You were just so angry." Quinn glanced at Mercedes, remembering the resentment that had been on her face when everything had gone wrong that afternoon in that stupid booty camp. "We'd never seen you like that."

"I think I'll always regret the way I handled that." Mercedes turned to look out of the window once more. "I took my anger out on you guys instead of keeping it directed at Mr. Schue where it belonged. Or maybe I should have just kept it directed toward myself."

"No one blames you for being mad at Mr. Schue. Trust me. We understood that much. As soon as he started yelling at you…" Quinn gave a wry chuckle. She definitely knew what that felt like.

After a moment of silence, Mercedes whispered, "I never want to go back if things are going to be the same. I'm not going back to that. But I hope you guys know that I miss you." She tilted her head back. "Never thought this was how senior year would be."

Quinn nodded her agreement. "Ever wish we could just go back to how it was right after Regionals that first year…when we thought that Coach had won and New Directions would be disbanded?"

"I take it you're talking about the moment that we found out we were going to be able to stay together. We felt so much like a family then."

"Think we'll ever get back to the way it was?" Quinn pulled into Mercedes's driveway and turned a little in her seat to face her.

Mercedes met her hopeful gaze with a doubtful one of her own. "Maybe? I don't know."

Quinn smiled at the Jones home. "You know, when I think about things I miss and things I wish I could go back to, your house always pops into my head. It's probably the only place I ever really felt truly safe…your family made me feel like I was loved for more than just my social status or my position on some stupid cheerleading squad."

"I told you then how that stuff doesn't really matter. Weren't you the one to tell _me _that?"

"In other words, we should listen to each other more often." Her smile turned mischievous. "That would require us to actually talk, huh?"

Mercedes opened the passenger's side door and picked up her book bag from where she had set it at her feet. "You should come over for Saturday morning breakfast sometime. My dad still makes mouth-watering bacon."

"Oh dear Lord, yes, I'll be there."

The two girls laughed. Mercedes leaned over and gave Quinn a quick hug. "You're always welcome here, Quinn Fabray. Always. Thank you for the ride."

Quinn squeezed her right back. "Any time. Tell Papa Jones I'll be coming for that breakfast."

"We'll be expecting you." Mercedes stepped out of the car and, after waving goodbye, turned to go into her house.

**Two things that I really hope are there when Sam comes back to McKinley? Samcedes flashbacks and Quinncedes. Can't wait for episode 3x08! Please review!**


	6. Good Signs

**Author's Note: **Okay so I don't really have a great excuse for why this fic hasn't been updated for several months. It probably has something with the fact that once Sam actually came back to McKinley, my fic was _kinda_ not canon and the fact that after seeing Shane's character onscreen, it got really hard to paint him as a villian. (Yeah, I'm getting over that). Anyway, enjoy the update; sorry it took me so dang long.

"I miss you, 'Cedes!"

Stevie practically shoved his sister out of view of their computer's camera. "I miss you more! Watching movies just isn't as much fun without you. Sam tried to make it as fun but he only let us watch that dumb…"

"Now wait just one second!"

Mercedes placed a hand on Sam's arm; she struggled to stifle her laughter. "Stevie, I _know_ you're not about to talk about your brother's favorite movie."

Sitting in the kitchen at the Evans' new home in Kentucky, Stevie set his head down on the table with an exaggerated moan. "It's too long!"

Sam's entire being was focused on the fact that Mercedes' hand was on his bicep; he eventually brought his attention back to arguing with his little brother. "James Cameron had to make it long! There was a lot of awesomeness to pack into it!"

"Oh, _whatever_!"

"Alright, boys, that's enough of that." Mercedes narrowed her eyes at Sam as he opened his mouth to continue bickering. He threw up both hands in defeat and she nudged him with a smirk, propping herself up on her elbows. She still had no idea how she had lost their own argument of video chatting with the twins on his bed versus at the desk on the far wall. That damn crooked smile probably did it.

Stacy elbowed her brother in the ribs repeatedly until she could once again be seen on the screen, blatantly ignoring his cries of pain. "Are you two back together now?"

It was only a matter of time before that question came up. Mercedes glanced at Sam; he shrugged. "Not yet. We're thinking about it."

"I wouldn't say that we're even…"

"It's a definite possibility," he interrupted. "I'm working on it."

"_Really_, Sam?"

He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Yes. Really."

Mercedes made it so Stacy and Stevie could not hear them anymore and turned his laptop so it was facing away from them. "Why are you giving that child false hope?"

Sam frowned. "Not seeing how it's false hope. I love you; you love me. The way I see it, I've got lots of hope. You're just being ornery."

"I'm just being _what_?"

He quickly turned his laptop back around and unmuted them. Stacy and Stevie had their faces inches away from the camera, looking worried. "Sorry about that, guys. Just had to talk about feelings real quick."

Stacy gave an understanding nod; the girl's face was so somber that Mercedes had to fight the urge to chuckle. "That's okay. We were wondering…'Cedes, we asked Mom if you could sleep over sometime…"

"Mercy is hundreds of miles away from you two! What are you guys asking _that_ for?"

Stacy glowered at her older brother. "She said 'Cedes could come whenever she wants."

"Whenever she wants!" Stevie repeated loudly.

"And Sammy, you promised you'd bring her!"

Mercedes slowly turned to Sam, lips pursed and eyebrows raised. He cleared his throat, not quite meeting her cynical gaze. After a moment, she gave the twins an apologetic smile. "I can't say that I'll be driving south anytime soon, but I promise we'll talk like this again. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah!"

Stacy's smile was halfhearted. "Really?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Sam will let me know when you guys are going to call and I'll do my best to be right here."

"Will you, Sam?"

He looked pointedly at Mercedes' position on the bed before giving his little sister a reassuring smile. "Trust me, kid. It'll be my pleasure. This arrangement is _quite_ agreeable." He let out a short laugh as Mercedes smacked his arm.

They heard Mary Evans' voice call out; Stevie frowned. "We have to go get ready for bed now." His face suddenly lit up. "We have our own beds now, 'Cedes. It's great!"

"I bet it is." She lifted a hand and waved. "Good night, you two! Sweet dreams!"

"Bye Cedes! Bye Sammy!" The last thing they saw before the video call ended was the twins' huge smiles.

Sam winked at Mercedes, moving to lie beside her on his stomach. "Night's still young. Wanna watch a movie now?"

Mercedes couldn't help but grin. Sam's eyes were practically glued to her lips; she could almost hear his inner musings on what flavor lip gloss she had put on before coming to the Hummel-Hudson home. "Sam, just ask what you really want to ask."

His eyes brightened with sudden optimism, and he leaned in even closer. "Alright…Can I kiss you again?"

She slowly moved her gaze from his to settle on his mouth and then, even slower, moved it right back. "I think I'll go grab a movie from downstairs."

Letting out a low groan, Sam flopped backwards against the bed's pillows. "Lady, you're a tease."

"Be right back."

Her departure from the room was halted as soon as she swung open the door. Kurt was standing on the other side, decidedly unapologetic as he thrust the house phone toward Mercedes. "Santana called. She wants to know if you two are actually watching a movie or getting wanky in here." He leaned forward to glance at Sam with absolute disinterest, swinging the phone slightly until Mercedes took the hint and grabbed it.

Kurt's gaze followed Mercedes as she walked down the stairs trying to convince Santana that nothing 'wanky' was going on. He eventually turned back to Sam. "So…what are you doing?"

Sighing, Sam raised himself up on his elbows. "Oh you know, the usual. Getting my girl back."

"Is it working?"

"Does it _look_ like it's working?"

When it was clear the other boy wasn't being sarcastic and was actually expecting an answer, Kurt shrugged. "She's actually spending time with you. I'd say things are looking promising. 'Cedes is pretty good at avoiding what she doesn't want to deal with."

Sam pumped his fist. "She wants to deal with me. Good sign!"

"Gosh, you came back always looking on the bright side." Kurt affectionately rolled his eyes at the blonde and went down to convince Mercedes to pick out a romance movie to watch. Better for snuggling.

_Mary Evans pecked her husband on the cheek as he entered their motel room, taking from him the two McDonald's bags he carried. He watched her unpack them on the small table in the corner and glanced over his shoulder at his three sleeping children. "They're still not up?"_

_ She shrugged. "Sam got in pretty late from Prom. Figured I'd give him a few minutes more of sleep. But I'm sure the smell of McMuffins will get all of them up and going."_

_ "Not just McMuffins." Dwight lifted a finger to bop her gently on the nose. "I got you that Fruit & Maple Oatmeal you like."_

_ Mary chuckled and pulled its container out of the bag. "Oooh fancy, Mr. Evans."_

_ "Only the best for you, Mrs. Evans."_

_ Their attention was grabbed by a sudden movement on the cot that lay near the foot of the large bed where the twins slept. Sam blinked groggily up at his parents; his blonde hair, desperately in need of a good cutting, was sticking in a hundred different directions. "I smell sausage. Is there sausage?"_

_ Dwight tilted his head and unwrapped one of the McMuffins with playful flare. "Hey, will you look at that? We have sausage!"_

_ "That's awesome." Sam swung his legs over the side of the cot._

_ Mary's eyes widened as her son started preparing for a quick shower. "You slept in your dad's tux?"_

_ "It was two o'clock in the morning. I didn't feel like changing," he explained, taking a detour from the small bathroom to lean over his two younger siblings. "Hey you two, shake a leg. We've got church in…" He glanced over at the outdated alarm clock sitting on the wooden nightstand beside the bed. "Half an hour." _

_ Dwight's eyebrows raised and he shared a surprised look with Mary. "You're willing to go to church at 9AM, the morning after Prom night? Who are you and what have you done with my son?"_

_ "What can I say?" Sam waited until he heard Stacy and Stevie grumble awake before going into the bathroom. "I'm feelin' pretty grateful."_

_ The door closed behind him; Mary gave a knowing nod. "Things must have gone really well with Mercedes."_

_ "Mercedes…?" Dwight handed the twins their breakfast as they trudged toward him sleepily._

_ "She was one of the girls Sam went to Prom with. The group date, remember?"_

_ Stevie picked off a corner of the American cheese on his Sausage McMuffin, popping the piece in his mouth with a satisfied smack. "We met Mercedes when Sammy took us to school with him that one time. She sings real good." _

_ "She sings really well," Mary corrected. She lowered a hand to the bottom of the McDonald's bag to pull out a plastic spoon. "Hopefully we'll be seeing more of her in the future. Sam seemed very excited about accompanying her to Prom."_

_ Stacy grabbed one of the napkins her mother also pulled out. "She probably looked like a princess. Who wouldn't be excited to hang out with a princess?"_

_ Dwight chuckled. "That's a very good question, kiddo."_

_ Stevie lowered the breakfast muffin from his mouth and frowned. "I thought you said Quinn looked like a princess."_

_ Stacy rolled her eyes, obviously seeing nothing wrong with any of her past observations. "They can both be princesses. There's more than one out there, you know."_

_ "No I don't know." He narrowed his cobalt eyes at his sister. _

_ Dwight ruffled his hair and put Sam's breakfast back in the bag in an attempt to keep it warm. "Hey, no arguing so early on a Sunday morning, guys. I'm sure both of them are princesses in their own right."_

_ "But I think Mercedes is the best kind of princess." Stacy nodded at her parents' identical inquiring expressions. "Because Sam is excited to spend time with her." _

_ "I see." Mary chuckled softly, thinking of how enthusiastic Sam had been when he'd come home that afternoon and shared that he was going to the Prom after all. It took a special girl to put that big of a smile on her son's face considering their circumstances."Well now. You may be right."_

**_Hope you liked it! Review!_**


	7. Challenge Accepted

_Sam shook his head in disbelief and moved his laptop from on top of his stretched-out legs to set beside him on his bed. "You're not serious."_

_ "Oh I'm serious, Evans." Sitting on the couch at his house, Puck glowered into his own laptop's video camera. "Zizes and I are no more. Splitsville."_

_ "I'm…really sorry to hear that. When did it happen?" _

_ "Before school even started. I'm gonna miss that kid, y'know? The way she used to threaten to cut off my balls if I touched her huge boobs. The way she used to threaten to cut off my balls if I did anything really. It was refreshing."_

_ "Yeah, sounds like a lot of fun." Sam ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Feel so out of the loop, man. I mean, this is great having our own place but..."_

_ Puck raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Don't tell me you miss this stupid town. Be happy you got out when you did. Everything's falling apart anyway. Senior year and no one 'cept Rachel and Kurt knows what the hell they're gonna do. We're practically tortured daily with hearing stupid Hummelberry plans to star on Broadway or something together. My kid's adopted mom is teaching at McKinley now and she's trying to give Quinn and me a shot to be close to Beth but Quinn's gone batshit crazy. And now Mercedes…"_

_ "Hold up." Sam leaned forward with a frown. "What about Mercedes? Is something wrong with her?"_

_ Puck lowered his gaze to his laptop keyboard for a long moment before raising it again to his camera. "Yes? We don't know. First she decides to date Tinsley and…" His voice trailed off as he looked at Sam's image apologetically. "Sorry. You knew about that, right?"_

_ "She told me when they went on their first date. It's fine," Sam lied. The hesitant expression on Puck's face turned into a cynical one once more, and he shrugged. "Okay. It's not fine. But keep going."_

_ "Her new boyfriend is some kind of a dick, Evans. She barely hangs around anyone but him nowadays. And she looks miserable. She doesn't have her spunk anymore. It's all just…angry. For a while, we'd been wondering if he was turning 'Cedes against us, the glee club. Anyway, today we figured out that's exactly what he's been doing. You should have heard her. It was like an explosion of 'I-hate-Schue'."_

_ "Lemme guess, this surprised everyone." Sam rolled his eyes. "Mr. Schuester's always had that coming. He never gave Mercedes the attention she deserves."_

_ Puck shook his head. "You don't get it. It was like she thought we were all the enemy. She said she'd outgrown us. And then she quit."_

_ "Quit what?"_

_ "Quit glee club…quit us." _

_ Sam stared at his laptop screen. "Mercedes quit New Directions?"_

_ "She basically told all of us to sing our way straight to Hell."_

_ "What did you guys do to her?"_

_ Puck threw up his hands, raising a defeated gaze to the ceiling. "Right. Yeah. Put the blame on us. Schue was the dumbass that decided to put her in dancing booty camp."_

_ "Mercedes can dance." His mouth almost started watering at the thought of Mercedes when she got into her zone on the dance floor. _

_ "Oh, trust me. I know that. I've seen Hot Mama's moves. To be honest with you, I think he pulled the booty camp idea out of his rear. He practically forced everyone but Rachel to go and we both know Berry's got no rhythm. We all understand why 'Cedes exploded; Schue treats her like second-best all the time. We just weren't expecting her to…leave."_

_ Sam let out a long, slow breath. This was ridiculous. "I should be there. I would have stuck up for her…maybe I could have talked to her…"_

_ "Yes on the defending. No on the chatting. Tinsley doesn't play that."_

_ Unbelievable. The Mercedes Jones he knew would never date or even associate herself with someone who even dared try to control her. What was going on? _

_ Puck cleared his throat to get his attention again. "Quick question before I sign off, dude."_

_ "Okay." Sam reached out to bring his computer back onto his lap, shrugging. "Shoot."_

_ "The other day 'Cedes came in late to booty camp. She did a few spins and almost upchucked on the stage. Now, I totally bought her story about eating a bad sub. Totally. Quiznos freakin' sucks. But Tina's been crying about the possibilities and I keep telling her that if Quinn could stay in school while she was pregnant with Beth, 'Cedes could do it and…Did you knock up Hot Mama?"_

_ Sam's eyes widened until he felt like they would pop out of his head. "…What?"_

_ "You know, I'm here for you two if it is your…"_

_ Sam held out a hand to stop him. "I need to make a call, Puck. Talk to you later, okay?"_

_ "Alright, man."_

_ As soon as the video call was ended, Sam lifted his hand to rub at his face vigorously. Puckerman wasn't being dramatic; everything was falling apart, and it was falling apart quickly. There was no way Mercedes was pregnant; she needed him. He stood from his bed and walked toward where his cellphone lay on top of his dresser but stopped just short of grabbing it. What good would calling her really do? Ex-boyfriend telling ex-girlfriend that her new boyfriend sucks. Real original material right there. _

_ He opened his bedroom door, leaving the phone. Maybe she knew what she was doing. Maybe walking away from the glee club was the only decision she could possibly have made. Maybe Shane was what she really wanted, what she really needed. Sam's eyes narrowed. Or maybe it was time for him to figure out a way to get back to Lima and get back his girl._

Watching a movie with Sam Evans on a bed. Now there was a situation Mercedes never thought she would ever find herself in again. They were sitting as far apart as they possibly could be sitting; he was relaxing back against his pillows while she sat cross-legged and completely straight-backed closer toward the foot of the bed. Was she comfortable? No. But the distance was good.

Part of her missed the safety of having him far away. She could put her guard back up; with Shane, her heart was definitely tucked away, safe and sound. Now she just felt exposed. Mercedes took a quick glance over her shoulder, turning back quickly as soon as her eyes met his intense green gaze. He hadn't looked away from her once since the movie started. She smiled to herself. Things like that did wonders for a girl's ego.

Sam sat up so he could reach out and tap her lightly on the shoulder, grinning as she jumped a bit at his touch. "Sorry. I was just wondering if you wanted to get more comfy."

"Oh I'm comfy." She wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Don't wanna be close to me all of a sudden?"

Mercedes started to shake her head but decided to shrug warily instead. "You said you wanted to watch a movie, Sam. You didn't say anything about snuggling."

"So the fact that you chose to watch _Friends with Benefits_ isn't code for anything?" He chuckled at the way her doe eyes widened and patted the space directly beside himself on the bed, tilting his head in that direction. "Come on, Mercy, get over here. You know I don't bite unless asked to."

"Aw hell, fine." She slowly crawled to sit beside him; her heart skipped a beat when he wrapped an arm around her waist to scoot her closer to him until their hips were brushing. Not quite meeting his eyes, she bit her lower lip. "Better?"

"You have no idea."

She directed her attention back to the movie but it wasn't long before her eyes were cutting to the side to glare at him. "Stop staring."

"Can't help it. You're beautiful." Sam lowered his face into the curve of her neck, grin broadening.

Mercedes swatted his leg. "Now you're smelling me?"

"Can't help that either. You smell good." He leaned back from her, suddenly sheepish. "I'm going too fast again, aren't I?"

"A bit, yeah." She glanced from him to the movie and motioned for him to mute it, waiting until it was paused and silent to speak. "I feel like you're expecting something. For everything to go back to the way it was. For us to be together and happy like we were this summer. And I…"

"Is that a bad thing?" She opened her mouth but no sound came out; he sighed. "I don't think it is. I don't think it's a bad thing at all for me to want you to be happy _with_ me. After all the crap you've been through with Shane…"

"Don't do that."

"I can't even say his name?" Sam's eyes narrowed. "Or you can't even talk about him? Either way, don't you think that's a little telling?"

Mercedes let out a frustrated groan under her breath, shaking her head firmly. "Why do you want to talk about Shane? Want to rub it in that I tried to move on from you and did a horrible job."

"Oh, I don't want to talk about him; I _want_ to punch his face in. He took my girl and then hurt my girl." He peered into her face and leaned forward. "I don't take that lightly, darlin'."

She fought against her instinct to retreat from him and also leaned forward. "You don't have to take it any kind of way, Sam honey."

"I see you've put up those walls again."

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Walls?"

"The walls I did such a good job tearing down."

Rolling her eyes with an indulgent grin, Mercedes nodded. "Oh, those. Right."

Sam caught her hand in his as she started to move back from him. "I tore them down once, Mercy. I don't care if you've built them bigger and stronger than ever…" He let his voice trail off, pressing his mouth to hers in a brief, chaste kiss. Lips still touching hers, he whispered, "I'm gonna tear 'em down again."

She lifted her other hand to the nape of his neck; her grin didn't change as she touched the short blonde hairs there. "I'd like to see you try."

"Challenge accepted." He gave her a little push so that she was lying on her back and lowered himself until he was lying beside her, propped up by an elbow while his free hand.

Her big brown eyes stared at him. "This is not your house. This isn't even _my_ house."

"So…making out would be rude?"

"Especially with the door open like it is."

Sam glanced toward the door, frowned, and looked back down at her.

Mercedes gave his hair a gentle tug. "Close the door, Sammy."

**Review and tell me what you think! **


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